Protesters arrested near Memphis jail before Martin Luther King anniversary

Police made at least eight arrests during protest against immigration detention, with more protests expected this week

Memphis police made at least eight arrests during a protest against immigration detention on Tuesday afternoon outside the city jail.

More than a dozen demonstrators in faux prison jumpsuits and shackles were crossing the street in a crosswalk when officers began making what appeared to be targeted arrests directed at well-known protesters in the city.

“They know who they’re looking for,” said Naomi Van Tol, a member of the Memphis Coalition of Concerned Citizens (C3), which was involved in organizing the protest. “It’s obviously targeted.”

Most vehicles stuck in the scrum waited for a few minutes before turning around and trying to find another route. Some honked; some waited patiently. One pickup truck tried to barrel through the activists as they were getting into place, drawing angry shouts.

Protesters managed to coax one man, a FedEx employee leaving the parking facility, out of his car for a quick dance before he got back in and was allowed to pass. “I appreciate every one of y’all,” the man said as he drove away.

Unlike at the second protest, police took a laid-back approach with demonstrators, giving a number of warnings to clear the roadway until finally growing impatient and telling Franklin to clear the roadway or face arrests.

Events are planned around the country on Wednesday, with a minute’s silence and a gala featuring the civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and John Lewis at the Lorraine motel, where King was killed, which is now a civil rights museum.